EMEC Consortium for Franco-Scottish Wind-Hydrogen Collaboration Engineering
Project title: EMEC Consortium for Franco-Scottish Wind-Hydrogen Collaboration Engineering
Project location: France & Scotland
Client: EMEC, Innosea and RCG
Project Summary:
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) was awarded a contract by the Scottish government to explore technical innovation status of floating wind and hydrogen supply chains in Scotland and France.
EMEC partnered with INNOSEA and Renewables Consulting Group (RCG) to carry out research to understand the technical status of floating wind and hydrogen in Scotland and France and identify ways that collaboration can be encouraged to address challenges of mutual interest.
Both technologies are integral to evolving energy decarbonisation strategies in both countries due to shared geographical characteristics and energy system contexts, suggesting opportunity for Franco-Scottish collaboration to accelerate expansion of technologies.
Our scope of work
The consortium held four virtual reflective workshops with French and Scottish industry stakeholders to understand their experiences of international collaboration as well as gather feedback on how future Franco-Scottish collaborative activities can be best supported.
INNOSEA provided expert industry knowledge of marine renewable technologies, alongside specific local understanding of the market and operators in France.
Start date: 2021
Challenges
It is important to collaborate with international partners and share knowledge in order to better understand the necessary transition to a net zero economy and energy system. Projects of this nature can inform further evolution of energy policies and seek to harness exciting new opportunities to expand offshore wind globally. This cooperation sheds light on challenges such as:
- Port infrastructure and marine supply chain
- Local manufacturing of components
- Incentivisation and regulation structure around innovation and R&D
Solutions
- Technical studies to evaluate the technical status of floating wind and hydrogen production components and systems under development
- Mapping out of the technical supply chain in both countries to support both floating wind and hydrogen development, and a hybridisation of the technologies
Results
Identified technical and innovation challenges in the supply chain, including the need for port infrastructure development, offshore working practices, and more R&D needed in materials and components for both technologies.
“We look forward to working with INNOSEA and RCG, and to engaging with a broad range of industry stakeholders in Scotland and France to develop recommendations for the Scottish Government on means of best supporting collaborative innovation in these sectors.”
Related services and sectors
Technical Studies
Hydrogen
